How to Look Taller in Photos: 3 Essential Photography Tips

Ever wanted to look taller in photos? Are you sick of looking SHORTER than you already are? Ladies. If your boyfriend is your photographer make sure he reads this blog post. As a short girl, I’ve seen people get ALL the wrong angles of me, making me look 2 ft tall, stubby, stumpy, and large in all the wrong places. There’s nothing worse than looking back at all of the 200 photos you got and seeing that you look way shorter than you actually are (if that’s even possible?)

As someone who is only 5’2 (and a half I’d like to say), I’ve struggled with getting others to take the photo that I envision due to poor angles that could easily have been fixed with a slight tilt of the phone. Follow these tips to ensure that your best features are highlighted and you never have to get frustrated again.

1. Look Taller: Tilt the Phone Back

It’s all about that angle, girl. The best way to make yourself look taller in photos is to tilt your phone back, so that your legs look longer. Have fun with this one! It takes a little bit of playing around, but once you get it, you’ll never go back to boring old regular photos again.

In this photo, the photographer was squatting on the ground and tilting the phone slightly backwards. Make sure that there is just A SMALL amount of space under your feet.

This angle also gives your photos more of an artistic feel to them. You’re playing with dimensions and the angles, instead of just taking what I’d like to call the tourist shot (see next photo).

2. Don’t Leave too Much Space Above or Below your Body.

Make sure if the photographer is tilting the phone back to elongate your legs, that there isn’t too much space above your head or under your feet. This happens a lot to me and totally distorts the entire image. I’ll show you an example of this:

As you can see, this image is NOT what we want.

Since the person taking this photo was taller than me and was standing too far away, this was the result…

Not to worry though, just make sure that you look at the angles and your proportions for the first few test shots before you really start posing. This way, your phone isn’t spammed with 200 bad shots that could have easily been avoided if the photographer just stood a bit closer or got a bit lower.

Remember, YOU are the subject of your photo. You should be centered without too much room above your head or below your feet. You should always aim for more room above your head than below your feet, especially if you’re short.

RECAP TIP: Remember to always make sure your feet are at the bottom of the photo, with minimal space below your shoes.

3. Shoot at Eye Level to Look Taller

It seems like a pretty obvious thing to do; however, your friend/boyfriend who is taking your photo is most likely naturally shooting at their eye level. Instead, make sure that the photo is being taken at your eye level. If that means the photographer needs to bend over or even take a knee, then so be it. There’s nothing worse than seeing a photo of yourself taken at a tall person’s eye level, which makes your legs look one inch tall and your head look huge.

But wait. Be careful that they don’t stoop down TOO low, because then you just look even shorter! Make sure that the phone is directly across from your eyes. Think of how you look at yourself in the mirror. This is how you want your audience to see you because this is the eye level that you see yourself!

Here is an example of a photo taken at eye level:

Another side note: If the photo is being taken at eye level, make sure it is just from your thighs up! Otherwise, the photo will be taken from too far away, making you look shorter.

I hope you shorties out there enjoyed this post! Leave a comment letting me know if anything was an “ah-ha” moment for you. This is all just a game of trial and error and finding out what best works for you! As someone who is 5’2, I’ve found that these tips work best for me.

OMG…I needed these tips! I always get upset at my IG husband for taking my pics from top down (since he’s taller than me)! Always shoot from bottom up so I look like I have longer legs!!! Thanks for sharing your tips!

Omg I’m so happy that you enjoyed them!!! This made me so happy. My IG boyfriend knows all my angles at this point LOL. He’s literally better than any of my friends at taking photos. Good luck girl, keep killin it!